Vietnam's industrial production outperforms 2015 figures in May

By Ha Phuong May 27, 2016 | 03:51 am PT

Vietnam's index of industry production (IIP) is set to rise 7.8 percent in May compared to the same month last year, spurred on by the manufacturing sector which has climbed 11.2 percent on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Water supply, sewage, waste management and remediation activities witnessed a surge of 7.4 percent, but mining and quarrying fell by 4.4 percent compared to May last year.

Key products that contributed to this month’s rising IIP included televisions, cars and steel.

Crude oil experienced a drop of 8.5 percent on-year, while mobile phones, a key export, also fell by 10 percent in May.

Iron producing in Vietnam. Photo by Ngoc Nhu Hai

Steel is processed. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Nhu Hai

As a result of the plunging IIP in mining and quarrying, the workforce was cut 2 percent on-year, of which employees working in crude oil mining and natural gas sector this May fell by 3.7 percent on-year. Staff numbers in the electronics parts and computer manufacturing fields rocketed by 18.8 percent, while workers in the garments and textile sector went up by 10.7 percent.